The 1979 Bob Marley album that “revolutionised” Ziggy Marley: “It made me want to know more of Africa”

Ziggy Marley says his father’s 1979 album *Survival* awakened his interest in Africa and the struggles of Black people. Its political message shaped his sense of identity and led him to challenge what he was taught at his Catholic school, where lessons covered the slave trade but, he recalled, little else about Africa.

Released after Bob Marley’s first visit to Africa, *Survival* featured African flags on its sleeve and songs supporting pan-African unity and liberation from colonial rule. ‘Zimbabwe’ backed the struggle against white-minority rule in Rhodesia and became an anthem for the newly independent country; Marley performed at its independence celebrations in April 1980, with 11-year-old Ziggy in attendance. The album was banned in apartheid-era South Africa, where actor Tim Reid fled after playing its title track on live radio.